QWrap: BJP Loses Kairana, Ankit Saxena’s Father Hosts Iftar & More

Here’s a video wrap of the top stories of the day.

Image used for representation purpose.

(Photo: The Quint)

Bypolls: BJP Loses Kairana LS Seat, SP Wins Noorpur Assembly Seat

Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Tabassum Hasan has won Uttar Pradesh's Kairana parliamentary constituency that is considered a stronghold of the BJP. The BJP also lost the Noorpur Assembly seat by a margin of 6,211 votes.

Addressing the media after the Samajwadi Party’s victory in the Noorpur Assembly seat, Akhilesh Yadav congratulated all the people who voted for the party, adding, “This is a defeat for those who do not believe in democracy.”

Find all the updates here.

Ankit Saxena’s Father Is Hosting an Iftar Party & You’re Invited!

“We are hosting an Iftar party for people of all faiths, and everybody’s invited,” says Yashpal Saxena, the father of Ankit Saxena, who was murdered in Delhi earlier this year.

On 1 February 2018, 23-year-old Ankit, an aspiring photographer from West Delhi, was waylaid by members of his Muslim girlfriend’s family, who were opposed to her relationship with a Hindu man. His throat was slit, and he bled to death.

Today, at the spot stands a makeshift memorial, set up by friends and family of the 23-year-old.

“Ankit’s life, his legacy is to be celebrated and if people are coming together for a good cause in my son’s name, what can possibly make me happier?” his father Yashpal Saxena told The Quint

To Saxena, the hosting of this Iftar party is the beginning of what he hopes will become a campaign to promote communal peace.

Watch the video here.

New Couple Alert: Ranbir Kapoor Confirms He’s Dating Alia Bhatt

The cat’s out of the bag... or is it? Hear it from the horse’s mouth. After recently admitting that they crush on each other, Sanju actor Ranbir Kapoor seems to have made it official. In an interview with GQ, he came clean about his relationship with his Brahmastra co-star Alia Bhatt.

The two recently made an appearance together at Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja’s wedding, fanning the flames of speculation. When Alia took to social media to upload a picture of the two, it elicited quite a few heart-eyes emojis!

So when he was quizzed about his life and asked if he was dating the Raazi actor, Ranbir spoke about the nascent stage of their courtship.

It’s really new right now, and I don’t want to overspeak. It needs time to breathe and it needs space. As an actor, as a person, Alia is – what’s the right word – flowing, right now. When I see her work, when I see her act, even in life, what she gives is something that I’m aspiring to for myself.

Ranbir Kapoor

Pro Kabaddi Auction Day 1 Wrap: 6 Players Breach Rs 1 Crore Mark

On a day which saw records being repeatedly broken at the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) players' auction, five Indians and one foreign player entered the Rs 1 crore club. Among them, Monu Goyat emerged as the most expensive buy in the league’s history after being snapped up by Haryana Steelers for Rs 1.51 crore.

Earlier, Deepak Niwas Hooda became the first player to cross the Rs 1 crore mark as Jaipur Pink Panthers paid an astounding sum of Rs 1.15 crore to bag his services for the league's sixth edition.

Read the full story here.

Dear Students, Don’t Even Think of Suicide: Your #MarksDontMatter

Yet again, students are committing suicide because they, or their parents, feel that their "board marks aren't good enough". So we at The Quint are asking you to send a message to those young students who are thinking about harming themselves or taking their own lives. What would you like to tell them? Record a short video or write a couple of lines and post it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Please use the hashtag #MarksDontMatter. And we’d be glad if you tag @TheQuint so that we can collate all of these videos and messages from across the country.

Watch some of the responses we got here.